Dec. 10th 5:00-9:00pm - PTO Chipotle Night

Dec. 11th 7:30-11:30am - MMS Spelling Bee

Dec. 11th 5:15pm - Girls Wrestling Meeting at MSMS

Dec. 12th - MMS Orchestra Tour

Dec. 12th 7:30 - Winter Band Concert

Dec. 13th 7:50-12:30 - Kay Club Morning of Service

Dec. 16th - ELA Quiz Bowl

Dec 17th - Careers/Fitness MCA Tour

Dec. 19th - Choir Holiday Tour

Dec. 19th - Robotics Competition

Dec 21st - Jan 7th - Winter Break

Access the 2024-2025 Maize USD 266 Calendar by clicking here.

Wichita Suburban League Calendar

Attention parents we will have a girls wrestling meeting at MSMS Wed. Dec. 11th at 5:15 p.m. in the cafeteria. If your child is interested in wrestling and they missed the first meeting please plan to attend this meeting to get all information for the upcoming season that will start Monday, Jan 13th!

Current 8th grade Careers/Fitness students will visit the Maize Career Academy on Tuesday, December 17th. We'll be taking two different groups for a few hours to tour the high school and to check out different class options.

PTO has had a busy and successful month!

We are thrilled to share the exciting news that our online donation fundraiser raised $10,889.95! This success would not have been possible without the dedication of our students, families, and community members coming together to make a difference.

We have already put some of the funds to good use by ordering the nine square set for the fitness and PE classes, purchasing various items for classroom teachers, and providing supplies for the MMS nurse’s office. The remaining funds will go directly toward projects that enhance our students' learning experiences throughout the year.

We are finishing this month with individual student rewards and will plan a fun celebration for the entire school in the spring to celebrate reaching our big goal of $10,000 raised.

We are so proud of what we’ve accomplished together and are incredibly grateful for the continued support of our amazing school community. Your efforts truly make a difference, and we can’t wait to see the positive impact these improvements will have on our students and staff.

Thank you for helping us reach new heights!

Warm regards,
Maize Middle School PTO

Spirit Nights

Thursday, Feb 6th - CFA
Tuesday, April 8th - CFA

Hello Maize Families!

We are wrapping up hearing and vision screenings in the Health Office. Be sure to ask your student if they were screened and what their results were! Letters for vision referrals should all be mailed. We should wrap up the "recheck" hearing screenings before the Christmas Break! If your student did not pass the first hearing screening, and does not pass the second hearing screening, I will give you a call!

An Important Reminder:

Please, please do not send your student to school with medication of any kind. Students are NOT allowed to carry ANY type of medication on their person (unless we have a signed Dr order on file in the Health Office for emergency medication only)! I am here to help if a medication need arises!!

If you feel the holiday spirit kicking in... we are always grateful for any donations for new or slightly used Eagle Gear, new women's underwear- all sizes, pre packaged healthy snacks, women's leggings-all sizes. Thank you!!

Shelley Funk BSN,RN

School Nurse

Maize Middle School

Phone: 316-350-2308

Fax: 729-2479

Email: sfunk@usd266.com

Maize Caring Hearts is excited to spread cheer and help local families and children in need! We invite you to support qualifying Maize USD 266 students and their siblings by purchasing an item from their wish list. It’s quick, simple, and a heartfelt way to give back! Your generosity makes Maize Caring Hearts a success, and we’re so grateful for your support!

Future Maker Lab is a group from WSU Tech that comes to introduce technical careers to students. Engineering students practiced virtual welding, flying drones, virtual painting, and saw Astro and R2- their robot dogs. They had a blast!

This month, we’re challenging your students to reflect on their experiences and take responsibility for how they choose to learn and grow from these experiences. We are partnering with you to grow and develop your child’s sense of responsibility. As you reflect as a family, celebrate your accomplishments, identify areas you may want to improve, and consider new ways to serve others in the days ahead. Some conversation starters you can share at home are: What are three important things you have learned in school so far? What is one thing you want to learn to do next year? What is your favorite memory from this past year? Please help your child to do their part and own their thoughts, words, and actions.

Our character trait for November was Teamwork. Students who successfully demonstrate teamwork exhibit the following behaviors:

• Listens to other students’ ideas and encourages them to share their opinions
• Collaborates well with others during group work
• Notices other people’s talents and skills, and encourages them to use them
• Develops healthy relationships with classmates
• Appropriately helps others complete tasks

Our students who were nominated by peers and staff to earn Student of the Month, and get a Chick-Fil-a lunch were: Andrew Williams, Blake Armfield, Boston Holcomb, Brennan Pepper, Colton Anderson, Galileah Marquez, Hayden Watkins, Henry Van Tassell, Jaxson Wilbanks, Mikayla Britt, Sam Askew, Sarah Drake, Serynity Gray, Tica Knutson, and Ximena Rojo Martinez.

Congratulations to these students!

The 8th-grade ELA team is excited to host their annual Quiz Bowl on December 16th! During their Reading classes, all students will participate and showcase their knowledge. The Quiz Bowl will cover novels, short stories, grammar, and everything they’ve learned in ELA this year. It’s a fun and engaging way to celebrate learning and enjoy a little friendly competition!

Six members of the Maize Middle School KAY club attended the Area 6 KAY Regional Conference on November 12th at the Boys and Girls Club. The club received the Gold award, recognizing their student leadership and service to their school, community, nation and world for the 2024-2025 school year. The Kansas Association for Youth (KAY) is a character-building, leadership training program directed by the Kansas State High School Activities Association. This nationally acclaimed organization provides students an opportunity to learn to assume their leadership responsibilities and to enrich their personalities through well organized programs. These programs emphasize four areas of service: School, community, nation, and world.

The theme for the 2024 Regional Conference was Ẅaves of service!” This conference affords opportunities for student leaders and sponsors from neighboring clubs to share successes and challenges, as well as exchange ideas. Sessions in leadership training and organizational skills are also offered. These conferences inspire delegates to turn to their clubs to challenge their local members. Local KAY members e=attending the regional conference were:

• Brennan Pepper

• Aria Sanders

• Miles Hamilton

• Abbie Erickson

• Hudson Glenn

• Grayson Payne

Accompanying the group was Mrs. Celina Soukup, the clubs sponsor.

Hello Maize Families!

Check out our December Counseling Connection for resources and information from our counselors.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to the school counseling office if you have questions or concerns.

Maize Middle School Counselors:

Monica Heide | Last names A-F | mheide@usd266.com

Bridget Paasch | Last names G-N | bpaasch@usd266.com

Melissa Fleeker | Last names O-Z | mfleeker@usd266.com

The orchestra students had a fabulous concert on 12/5 at MPAAC. Congratulations to them all! Concert video is available. Several orchestra students have volunteered to go play holiday songs for the community on Thursday, December 12th from 9:30-1:30.

Our next concert will be held at MMS on Tuesday, February 25, which will showcase solos and small ensembles, and the 2 pieces we will take to contest at MSMS.

Students will be going to Worlds of Fun & KC Strings on May 9. More details coming in January, but the cost should be about $145 each, with a smaller fee for chaperones that includes park tickets and food.

There is a possibility that we will need to change the date of our April 29 concert to April 30 to accommodate our guest artists' schedule. More details coming soon. Please hold both those days open on your calendar. It may be an all-day event.

The MMS orchestra went to the WSU Orchestra Invitational. They all got to work with the instrument specialists in small groups (who are also the principal players in the Wichita Symphony) in a technique class, and the 8th graders performed in a clinic with the WSU Orchestra Director and two guest clinicians. We also ate lunch on campus and watching other schools perform. One of the highlights was watching the WSU Symphony perform for us. We had a great time and learned a lot. Thank you Dr Mark Laycock for inviting us, inspiring us, and giving us the opportunity to grow as musicians.

Follow the band on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and find up to date info on the band website.

--Connor Siler

Maize USD 266

Co-Director of Bands

MHS – MMS – MIS

For more information, please contact Celina Soukup (csoukup@usd266.com), Amanda Hawkins (ahawkins@usd266.com), or Monte Slaven (mslaven@usd266.com).